Margaret Sanger is a polarizing figure, preferably avoided to stay above the fray. Unfortunately, it quickly becomes apparent to the eugenics and Holocaust history researcher that she is unavoidable. She is present in some form or another throughout the archives that house eugenics and Holocaust history, largely as a consequence of her considerable talents as a political organizer and lobbyist. Sanger was one of various organizers that coalesced eugenics into a world-wide movement; a movement made up of a network of eugenical organizations, scientific journals, and symposiums. This network of eugenical organizations was the conduit through which knowledge was exchanged; knowledge about how to implement eugenical goals through legal means. It is undeniable that the Nazis transacted their genocidal policies through “legal” means, namely leveraging the infamous Nuremberg Decrees whose salient portions were verbatim translations of American eugenic legislation. The Nazi eugenicists had been the recipients of decades of legal strategies matured by their American counterparts; eugenical legislation specifically drafted to surmount the otherwise formidable civil rights protections of the United States Bill of Rights. This exchange of knowledge happened through the various eugenic organizations, scientific journals, and symposiums pulled together by talented organizers and lobbyists; one of the most consequential of which was Sanger’s vast network of eugenical organizations, journals, and symposiums.
THIS PAPER WAS WRITTEN AS PART OF THE RESEARCH FOR THE EUGENICS ANTHOLOGY: https://EugenicsAnthology.com
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7879263

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